Matus
A masculine name of Slavic origin meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Matus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Matus today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matus births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matus. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Matus with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Matus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,891
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Matus: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Matus by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Matus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Matus
The given name Matus has its origins in the Latin language, where it was derived from the word "Matthaeus," which in turn came from the Hebrew name "Mattithyahu." This Hebrew name is composed of the elements "mattan," meaning "gift," and "Yah," which is a shortened form of the Hebrew name for God.
Matus is a variant of the more common name Matthew, which has been widely used throughout history. One of the earliest and most notable references to this name is in the New Testament of the Bible, where it is given to one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
The earliest recorded use of the name Matus dates back to the Middle Ages, where it was primarily used in various Central and Eastern European regions. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Matus Čák Trenčiansky, a powerful Hungarian-Slovak nobleman who lived in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
Another notable figure with the name Matus was Matus Chalupka, a Slovak poet and playwright who lived from 1835 to 1923. He is considered one of the most important figures in Slovak literature and is particularly renowned for his collection of poems titled "Bendeguz."
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the name Matus was Matus Cervannan, a Slovak actor and director who lived from 1909 to 1980. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Slovak theater and film.
Another prominent individual with this name was Matus Stolarik, a Slovak-American historian and academic who lived from 1931 to 2007. He was a leading expert on Slovak immigration to the United States and made significant contributions to the study of Slovak-American history and culture.
Lastly, Matus Bajko, a Slovak football player who was born in 1988, has achieved notable success in his professional career. He has represented Slovakia at the international level and has played for several top-tier clubs in Europe.
While the name Matus has its roots in ancient Hebrew and Latin origins, it has maintained a strong presence in various Central and Eastern European regions throughout history, with notable individuals bearing this name in various fields, including literature, theater, academia, and sports.
People
Matus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matus as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Matus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matus going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Matus a common name?
We classify Matus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matus most popular?
The single biggest year for Matus was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matus is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Matus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matus in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Matus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matus in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Matus can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Matus as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.